Chapter 10: Princely Advice

"My quest is complete, and I bring to you the information you seek," Sir Cadogan repeated to the three stunned first year students who had only just been in the process of entering Gryffindor Tower.

"What?" Teddy and Rastaban asked at once, while Valerie shook her head in disbelief.

"I have uncovered a most foul scheme by your detested Professor Malfoy. I caught him in the act of plotting two assuredly heinous murders," The knight explained seriously, stepping down from the fat pony he had waited dutifully upon. "I arrived late last night to give you my report, but I fear I fell asleep and did not encounter you as you left your quarters this morning. I have brought shame on the House of Cadogan."

"You've got to be kidding me," Teddy muttered, only having just recently helped his friend get over his fears and anxieties about his uncle.

"Tell us," Rast said, seemingly forgetting about his earlier decision that he accept his uncle and forgive the man.

"I was witness to written plots of murder against two innocents. One came shortly after the use of the name Rastaban and seemed to refer to him," Sir Cadogan said, watching carefully to make sure the students understood the gravity of what he was saying. "He wrote down that he would like to throttle this Rastaban for being incredibly stubborn."

"Well, I feel that way, too, sometimes," Valerie scoffed. She looked her friend straight in the eye. "You seem to latch onto an idea and refuse to let it go. It's really not a good trait."

"She's right," Rast said, looking at the portrait. "I don't think we went a week back at the manor without Uncle Lucius telling me he wanted to strangle me for some reason. I think Aunt Narcissa even agreed with him when I named Marvolo," he laughed. "Nothing a hunger strike couldn't fix, though."

"Well, that notwithstanding, the other threat seems far greater. I did not see to whom he was writing this letter that contained such an evil plot, but he noted that there was no reason for a Pureblooded witch to run off with Mudblood scum. He offered to kill this woman, whose name, I recall, was Andromeda," Sir Cadogan supplied, causing the colour to drain from Teddy's face. His hair turned white and he stood, with mouth agape.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked a minute later. He was trembling now, both with rage and confusion.

"I mean that your Professor Malfoy seems intent on killing this woman. Do you know her?" the knight asked.

"SHE'S MY GRANDMOTHER!" Teddy shouted at the portrait. "We have to go stop him now, guys. If he's planning on killing my Gran, then I don't want to waste any time."

"Alright. Thanks, Sir Cadogan, but we have to go now before Teddy goes round the bend," Valerie said, grabbing hold of Teddy's arm for fear he might fall down in a dead faint. Sir Cadogan gave her a salute and rode off on his fat steed, slipping out of the saddle only to end up chasing after it. "Come on, Rast, we have to get to your uncle and get to the bottom of this."

Rast placed his hand on Teddy's other elbow and together he and Valerie led Teddy to the dungeons, to Professor Malfoy's office. They knocked, bringing down the silver coiled snake on the door to announce their presence. A long moment later Professor Malfoy opened the door to find his nephew and Valerie Wood holding a half-unconscious and half-enraged Teddy Lupin.

Lucius let a moment pass in which he thought that Bellatrix would be disappointed in her son's emotional state at this moment, but delighted by her great-nephew's fury. He nearly slid into his characteristic smirk and sneer before catching himself. "What can I do for you three?" he drawled.

"YOU WANT TO –" Teddy managed to yell out before Valerie clapped a hand over his mouth, muffling his voice.

"Can we come in and make it so sounds can't get out of the office? Teddy's going to yell for a while, I think, and we don't need him waking the whole castle," Rast explained as he and Valerie pushed their way into the office without waiting for permission. Lucius, for his part, merely nodded at them and closed the door behind him, muttering a quick spell as he did so.

"So then, what is this about?" Lucius asked, looking at the three students in turn, catching something out of the corner of his eye off by the wall. That would be something to investigate later. He put it out of mind and returned his attention to the boy with furious red hair.

"YOU'RE TYRING TO KILL MY GRANDMOTHER YOU SICK, PATHETIC SON OF A BITCH!" Teddy yelled, and Rast put his hand over his friend's mouth. Teddy kept on going, despite the blockage that prevented his words from emerging as anything more than a garbled mess. Lucius knew well enough that the boy was irate enough to put a sailor to shame, and was probably doing his best to do just that.

"I'm not trying to kill your grandmother, Mr. Lupin. You seem to be woefully misinformed on that notion. I wish Andromeda nothing but happiness, to be quite frank with you," Lucius drawled on.

"How can we believe that?" Rast asked, struggling to keep Teddy from breaking away to physically assault his uncle. "Sir Cadogan saw you write it in a letter. He saw you write that you would gladly kill her because she's a Pureblood who ran off with 'Mudblood scum.'"

"Ah," Lucius breathed, rolling his eyes slightly. "I wrote that letter to your aunt, actually. Give me a moment to get her in the Floo to read off what I wrote. I think you'll find that it will clear things up."

He took a pinch of Floo powder and threw it into the grate that had only been used an hour earlier to transport them all to Hogwarts from Malfoy Manor. He plunged his head into the green flames, looking somewhat ridiculous even to those completely used to fire calling. After a minute he removed his head from the fire and stepped aside, allowing the children a look at the fire. Narcissa Malfoy's head appeared in the flames, and looked up at them all.

"I don't know how you lot found out about the letter Lucius wrote to me the other day. However, I'll clear this all up in a few moments," she said, bestowing a deeply sorrowful look on Teddy, who still had a hard, angry look about him.

"First, Andromeda and I were great friends when we were younger, and we would often play together when we were young girls," she explained. "That should clear up how we even know your grandmother, Theodore."

Teddy nodded, waiting to see what else she would say. He didn't hate Narcissa Malfoy, but he certainly didn't like her husband and could not trust him until he heard the woman out.

"Anyway, I'll read out from the letter, the part you seem to have become concerned about." A hand appeared in the fireplace, gripping a piece of parchment. "Let's see... there we go. 'Now, allow me to inject my thoughts about your desire to speak with Andromeda. As you know, had I written this letter eleven years ago, my response would probably read as "I'll kill her for you, if you want. There's no reason for a witch of a Pureblooded family to run off with Mudblood scum and betray everything that is good and right in the world." However, I know better now, as you so put it in your letter. I support your decision to reopen relations. I even promise not to kill her. I know; that was a horrible joke.'"

"That is a pretty bad joke, Uncle Lucius," Rast commented after a long and pregnant pause, hoping to bring some levity back to the room. Valerie stifled a small chuckle, and Teddy nearly smiled.

"You swear that that's all it was, a recollection of what he once would have said?" Teddy asked.

"That is the truth of it, Theodore. I assure you, Lucius does not want to kill your grandmother, and neither do I. In fact, I would rather like if we might be able to become friends again," she said, though Lucius could see in her eyes that Andromeda meant so much more than that to his wife.

"I'm sorry, then, to have made you have to come in through the Floo to clear this up. And I'm sorry about yelling at you, Professor," Teddy answered, his hair as pink as his face.

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Lupin. Your reaction was quite understandable given what you believed. Now run along; you still have classes tomorrow, and you should probably get some sleep."

The three first year students complied and vacated the office within moments. Lucius looked down to the fire and saw that Narcissa had remained there, waiting for them to go.

"Thank you for omitting any reference I made to her being your sister. I don't want him knowing that yet, because it will lead to him finding out about his mother, and I don't think he's at all ready for that."

"I agree, but I wish we didn't have to lie to him like that. He deserves to know."

"I know he does, but I don't think he's ready for it just yet. He's too young."

"It doesn't do to lie to young children, Lucius. Nor does it do to unload such unpleasant truths on them, Narcissa," a silky smooth voice spoke out from out in the room. Lucius looked up, finding the source of the voice in a portrait on the opposite end of his study. A man with sallow skin and long, greasy black hair lounged on a throne comprised of human bones, waving off the throne's owner with one hand as he stared intently at his former friends.

" Severus," Lucius said, his eyes widening in surprise. "I thought I saw you earlier."

"Are you well?" Narcissa asked from the grate.

"I am as well as a piece of canvas coated with paint can be, Narcissa," Snape said, lightly coating his words with his acidic tongue as he stroked his goatee in apparent thought. Few could match their sarcasm against that of Severus Snape, even when he was having an off day. "I just wanted to let you two know something, and potentially impart a bit of advice. Although that part may be difficult if all the old stories about blondes are true."

"Then speak, my friend," Lucius invited, choosing to ignore the jab at his intelligence.

"You seem to have done a far better job at raising the boy than your sister would have, although she never really seemed the maternal sort, Narcissa. From what I've seen, though, in lurking your classroom, Lucius, he is an intelligent lad," Snape complimented, something rare indeed. "He hungers for knowledge, and he will undoubtedly seek out the information you keep from him. However, he is not old enough to know just yet. I know a few things, though, and I can guide him to the information when he is ready, and keep him on the longest possible track to it until that time."

"You want to help us keep him from knowing by helping him slowly put it together?" Lucius muttered uncertainly.

"Yes. I will be in the Headmaster's office if you wish to inquire as to my methods at a later date. This wretch," he gestured to the Dark wizard who still attempted to reclaim his throne, "seems like he should sit down, and I grow uncomfortable here. I bid you a pleasant night."

With that the man swept out of the portrait dramatically, and the Dark wizard scrambled back onto his throne, wearing a suitably depraved, toothless grin at having driven away the intruder. Lucius and Narcissa shared a long, meaningful look before Narcissa's head left the fire. They would acquiesce to their old friend's advice and methods. He would never steer them in the wrong direction.